High voter turn-out: Election Commission 1, apathy 0

“Elections Phase 2: Northeast registers high turnout, peaceful polling once again,” screamed the headline in Mint. “Nagaland records 82.5% polling, Manipur 70%, Meghalaya 64% and Arunachal Pradesh 71%, says EC,” said the strap. This morning, there are reports of brisk voting. “An average 16 percent turnout was recorded in the first two hours of polling in 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala, which began this morning. According to the Election Commission, 6.9 percent voter turn out was recorded in the first hour itself. In Uttar Pradesh, 12 percent polling was recorded in the first two hours of polling in Gautam Budha Nagar Lok Sabha seat.Polling for 10 Lok Sabha constituencies spread over 11 districts of Western Uttar Pradesh, including riot-hit Muzaffarnagar district, is underway,” _Firstpost_ reported. “Brisk voting has been reported in all of Uttar Pradesh’s 10 Lok Sabha constituencies,” Firstpost’s live report on the elections added. [caption id=“attachment_1474093” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP.[/caption] While political parties and candidates will try and interpret the ramifications of a high voter turnout, 300 members of the Election Commission will be quietly celebrating. Up to this point, we have, for the most part, seen a free and fair election; we have seen high voter turnout. In a country which has, of late, seen a disappointing level of voter apathy, the EC has pulled out all the stops in a bid to get as many eligible voters to the hustings. Having spent time with members of the Election Commission, one learns of the various aspects that the EC takes into account while scheduling the elections. For example, the EC is firm that Mumbai will not see elections on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays or Mondays, as Mumbaikars will just take the weekend, or a longer weekend, off. So we see Mumbai going to the polls on a Thursday. Similarly, the EC has attempted to schedule elections in all major cities before schools close for the summer – as entire families could be travelling on vacations. The EC has tried to destroy the belief that a single vote doesn’t matter by using a host of communication messages, aimed at both urban and rural voters. We played a small role in one such effort – and you can watch the TVC here. The reports, as of now, suggest that the EC’s efforts are paying off. It’s not yet half-time in this mammoth election, but the score, as of now, reads Election Commission 1, apathy 0.